September 8th is International Literacy Day, a day dedicated to celebrating the ability to read and write, which is one of the greatest gifts a person can have. But at Geetanjali Group of Schools Hyderabad, this celebration isn’t limited to one day on the calendar. It is a philosophy that the school embraces daily raising readers, thinkers and communicators and not just children who can pass an exam.
Geetanjali has always felt that true literacy is a lot more than textbooks and has always been one of the schools that have been regularly included in the top 3 Cambridge schools in Hyderabad. This International Literacy Day, let’s take a closer look at the impact that belief has on learning on campus on an everyday basis.
To explain why International Literacy Day is important in classrooms.
International Literacy Day was founded to celebrate literacy as a right and a dignity, a right which brings opportunities, independence and self-expression. For schools, it’s an opportunity to examine the question: What are we teaching our children to do when they read? Are we teaching them to read words or are we teaching them to learn, question, and become, through reading? The answer has always been more towards the latter in the case of Geetanjali.
Children who are beginning to learn to read words to children who are thinking independently.
The school has an early focus on literacy, particularly in phonics, in vocabulary and comprehension in the primary years. However, the emphasis changes as students grow in their ability from learning to read to reading to learn. Children learn to make judgments about what they read, to wonder ‘why’, and to relate what they read to their surroundings in classroom discussions, book clubs, and story circles, while being encouraged to read for enjoyment and to make reading a habit, not an ‘academic’ task to be graded.
Reading Culture Beyond the Classroom
Book learning does not foster love for reading. Love for reading grows out of culture. Because Geetanjali believes reading should be nurtured through:
- Library hours and reading corners that make books a pleasure in the school day.
- Book fairs and literary festivals dedicated to storytelling, poetry and young authors
- Reading competitions that become confident, oral communication.Debate and elocution competitions: reading is verbalized.
- Peer reading circles with older students providing support for younger students
These experiences subtly instill children with a reading personality, rather than making them students who are learning to read books.
How to build the skills of language excellence via a Multi-Curriculum Approach.
Geetanjali’s inclusivity of Cambridge International, CBSE and Olympiad programmes, each with their focus on strengthening literacy skills, confers a duty on the top 3 Cambridge schools in Hyderabad to set high standards. The Cambridge curriculum encourages children to read and write persuasively. Structured comprehension skills are developed in CBSE at all stages. The Olympiad training enhances the speed of reading, logical thinking and analytical ability. These pathways ensure that the common thread throughout a student’s academic journey is a strong literacy foundation regardless of a student’s academic path.
Reading as a Bridge to Empathy
Empathy is one of the less flashy rewards of being able to read. Reading stories of other cultures, historical conflicts, or characters that are different from you, gives students the opportunity to view the world through another person’s perspective. Teachers at Geetanjali use stories to engage in discussion on the topics of kindness, diversity and understanding particularly on International Literacy Day, as reading isn’t a mere academic pursuit, it’s a means to create better human beings.
Digital Literacy for a Digital World
There are many other ways of being a modern literate person than reading books. Students also learn to engage in critical reading online, to identify trusted information, to question misinformation and to use technology responsibly. This helps to ensure that children’s literacy continues to develop alongside their transition to a digital world.
Round the clock celebration of Readers, not just Scorecards.
Geetanjali Group of Schools Hyderabad, celebrates a simple yet profound occasion on this International Literacy Day the joy of reading. Academic outcomes are important, but they’re not the endpoint. Children who read for pleasure; children who think because they are taught to ask questions; children who communicate with confidence that comes from understanding and comprehending the world around them are the goal.
Establishing a habit of reading every day throughout one’s lifetime.
Literacy isn’t a milestone to be crossed, it’s a lifelong partner. In nurturing curious minds, confident voices and a genuine love for books, Geetanjali Group of Schools Hyderabad continues to demonstrate that education is not merely about those marks on a report card but the readers, thinkers and communicators that a school sends into this world.
Celebrate the joy of reading this International Literacy Day! Please contact Geetanjali Group of Schools for more details about admissions and our Cambridge, CBSE and Olympiad programs.